April 30, 2007

Discovery cycling releases Basso,: Citing concerns that his presence might be a hindrance to the Discovery Channel Cycling Team's efforts to find a new sponsor, Ivan Basso has parted ways with the Austin-based team that signed him late last year.

I don't think it's going to be. In fact, it appears to be expanding and growing worse by the day. I find the timing of Basso's announcement troubling. He's just two days away from hearing with CONI - he clearly doesn't expect anything positive to come from that. At the same time, Landis is releasing more information pointing to slipshod procedures at LNDD. He appears to have hit a nerve as the lab immediately responded today with request for outside verification. I sure hope there is some "meat" in all the allegations coming from Operacioin Puerto this time.

Meanwhile, Tyler Hamilton and Jorg Jaksche have both been told by Tinkoff that there's no way they can ride the Giro, which makes Tyler's big comeback extremely pointless. But Basso obviously knows what's gonna go down in Rome on Wednesday. This is the end for him as a rider. Game over.

As of this morning, Tinkoff still saying Hamilton and Jaksche are going to ride the Giro. Italian media says otherwise. Giro, TdF, and Vuelta organizations all saying no one with link to Operacion Puerto will be invited. My guess is they are out - which probably means Hamilton's career is over.

Seriously, this all sucks. I love to watch cycling, but it disturbs me to see Basso, Ulrich and whoever else not be able to ride when Operation Puerto has been going on for over a year. If these riders did this, then ban them or something, but quit playing with them and the teams!!! AHHH! Sorry for the rant, but I'm dealing with finals also!

"I am at peace," said fallen Italian star Ivan Basso to La Gazzetta dello Sport in regards to his leaving Discovery Channel and an advancing investigation by Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). "Anyway, I am not going to be at the Giro. Even with the consensual separation with Discovery, I had already decided not to race it," continued the 29 year-old from Varese.

On the bright side, this should make the Giro a far more exciting race.

afx, I appreciate your "glass half-full" mindset. Wish I could share it. In any sport, you'd like to see the torch passed along in a legitimate manner. Even when Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls (the second time), you still had Stockton, Malone, Robinson, Shaq, etc. around in the NBA. In this case, you had Armstrong retiring, with the absence of Basso and Ullrich compounding that loss. So while all of the grand tours might be exciting, there would be a "tallest-midget" element to them.